Telephone Code ‘181’ To Be Dedicated To Women’s Safety

Sometimes, what dignified dialogue and restrained requests cannot achieve, outrages can. Case-in-point is the outburst and outrage that stirred the capital and the nation post the brutal gang-rape of the 23year paramedic student, Jyoti Singh, in the capital. Seeing how angry the nation was, the government tried to salvage the situation by setting up emergency response services for women. For one, the central government decided to publish the name of rape convicts on their website. The Delhi government too, tried to pacify the public, by launching a helpline to help women in distress. From the corporate side, Anand Mahindra led his team at CanvasM to add an additional emergency safety feature in their pre-existing ‘ fightback ’ app. Now, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has urged all Chief Ministers to launch the code ‘181’ in their states as a dedicated helpline for women in addition to the regular police helplines. On their part, the central government agency is running trials so as to be able to detect the location of the caller. This will considerably help the police in getting to the distressed woman in time and will aid the rescue process. In a letter Mr. Sibal said, “Keeping in view the increased frequency of unfortunate instances of offences and violence against women, the Government of National Capital Territory is using the help-line service exclusively for women in distress and I urge you to consider starting a similar help-line service on code ’181′ in your state”. Under Mr. Sibal, The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) is working on a safety electronic device that is priced below Rs. 1000. This device will allow the user to send emergency alerts to selected numbers when the need arises. However, given that free apps like bSafe do exactly this, I don’t understand the need for a separate device. I sincerely hope that all state governments take this advice seriously and set-up a machinery in place to help women in need. It is time this country starts taking the issue of women’s safety seriously and that it takes steps to ensure that the women are kept safe and made to feel safe. Wouldn’t you agree? Follow @Muted_Musings Image Courtesy | globalpost Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency